Survey Shows Lesbians Are Top-Notch Parents
By Brian FairbanksJune 8th, 2010, 10:20 amComments (10)
The medical journal Pediatrics followed 78 lesbian couples and their biological children for almost a quarter century, concluding that gay parents are probably even better than straight ones.
The survey, which comes on the heels of a report we told you about last week on how gaydar is real and proves gay people are probably smarter than straights, is already under attack from anti-gay groups because it was funded by biased outfits like the Lesbian Health Fund. Pay no attention to these fools -- this kind of exhaustive research is usually airtight:
Dr. Nanette Gartrell, the author of the study, wrote that the "funding sources played no role in the design or conduct of the study."
"My personal investment is in doing reputable research," said Gartrell. "This is a straightforward statistical analysis. It will stand and it has withstood very rigorous peer review by the people who make the decision whether or not to publish it."
Children from lesbian families rated higher in social, academic and total competence. They also showed lower rates in social, rule-breaking, aggressive problem behavior.
Dr. Gartrell notes that the desire to have children achieve academic success and avoid antisocial behavior is often stronger in mothers and those parents who plan for a birth before actually getting pregnant:
"The mothers were older... they were waiting for an opportunity to have children and age brings maturity and better parenting."
Read more at CNN.com.
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Comments ( 10 )
I was so pissed when I saw the preview for The Kids Are All Right with Annette Bening and Juliane Moore: Moore's life with her lesbian wife (Bening) is not enough - she ends up falling for her childrens' sperm donor (of course, a man). If homosexuals are really better parents, maybe there should be a hollywood film that depicts that.
I'm certainly not suggesting that lesbians don't make good parents, but I wonder if this study is controlled for socio-economic differences between lesbian parents and the population in general. Especially when you consider that lesbians probably have to be well-off enough to pay for IVF or adoption in order to get the kids in the first place. My guess is that the majority of this effect is due to these differences rather than any advantage lesbian parents have over heterosexual parents of the same socio-economic standing.
I find the results of this study quite interesting. While conservative, homophobic legislators can talk all they want about how "life-style" affects child rearing, I'm sure the factors mentioned above - socio-economic status, planned pregnancy, and an investment in education are all important factors.
"lesbians probably have to be well-off enough to pay for IVF or adoption in order to get the kids in the first place." — Um, lesbians have another, cheaper option: getting a man to fuck them.
And I am sure that the study money factors into account.
AB nailed it. This study doesn't account for the higher income given how they get the kids in the first place. Plus, they actually want the children, as opposed to the % occurrence of unwanted pregnancies among straight parents. Bottomline, parenthood isn't a gay or straight issue.
@moops from the article: "The study, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, followed 78 lesbian couples who conceived through sperm donations"
I guess they could have gone that route, but clearly didn't.
Academic success and antisocial behavior avoidance, these are the benchmarks? How about personality, creativity, honesty etc. How'd the gay men couples fair by comparison?
The fact that the parents had to plan for these kids and take extraordinary steps to have them probably has a greater impact on the ultimate outcome than the sexual orientation of the parents. I would guess that the success rate would be similar to heterosexual couples who have to conceive through medical interventions, such as IVF.
"Pay no attention to these fools - this kind of exhaustive research is usually airtight." The research reports that showed there was no link between cancer and smoking was exhaustive too. Who funds the research is incredibly important. In addition to his horrible writing, Fairbanks not only doesn't know what he's talking about (and never seems to) - but is only interested in things that support his myopic worldview.
There is one other possible factor to consider -- observation bias. I want this report to be true. I expect it to be true. But let us be honest with ourselves for a moment. Do you really believe parents -- ANY parents -- under observation by a team of researchers looking at their parenting behavior wouldn't take extraordinary steps to raise their children well? Or do we believe the fiction that parents are always trying their very hardest, no matter who might be watching?
The study participants knew full well that positive study results could be used to justify beneficial legal changes, or might conversely be used to further demonize same-sex parenthood in the event of poor results. And there's nothing like being held up as the poster parents for same sex households to engender a behavioral change.
Yeah, yeah, I know. It's a 25-year study. People can't keep a false front up for 25 years, right? I'm not sure.
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